The Same Place
by MeloChet
Summary: It’s been years since their breakup. They should’ve moved on. They shouldn’t still be in that same place, but they are. Life is changing and staying in one place can be dangerous. It’s one of two choices; one safer than the other, but the other is what they both really desire. A story of breakup and second chances.
1. Preface

_Hello everyone! I'm Rachet. For those of you that have been reading Descendants fanfics for awhile, you might know me as the writer of "Queen of the Isle" and "Under The Love Spell"(both of which I am currently rewriting). I just wanted to introduce you to the story._

_This fanfic is actually based off of one of my favorite songs. It's a ballad called "Missing You" by BTOB, a kpop group. I'll be using their song lyrics as line breaks as BTOB is just so good af writing lyrics. I would love to promote them further as they're so heavily underrated, but I really don't want to waste the time of those who don't care when there's the internet for those who do care. I'll just say they're one of the most talented guys in all of kpop, and leave it at that_

_Anyways, if you're going into this story after having read some of my older works, I do have to ask you to abandon all expectations. I've seriously improved so please try to keep an open mind. But if you're on the opposite end, I do hope you won't overestimate me. I'm still a young writer that has much to improve._

_Finally, I really do hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I know I'll enjoy writing it. Thank you!_


	2. 1

_A/N: First chapter! Hello, it's Rachet! Enjoy!_

**Another day passed today, nothing unusual**

A single light lit up the room. It fought a losing battle against the darkness. Bookshelves lined one wall, filing cabinets of royal documents on another. Large glass panels, framed with a dark wood and curtains, took up the space of another. A long brown table was up against the final wall, taking up the length that the door didn't. From maps to pens, the table housed a multitude of unnotable objects.

Ben buried himself in his work, studying each document carefully. Pushing papers to the side, he arranged them into several piles. His eyelids felt heavy upon his green eyes. He threw his brown hair back as he filtered the documents into different stacks. When he finished, Ben slumped back into his chair tiredly.

His eyes flittered across his office, darkening by the second. He shut his eyes tightly and sighed. Three and a half years since he and Mal had started dating. One year since he broke up with her. It had only been one year. Since then he'd only been focusing on his kingly duties and schoolwork.

Eyelids fluttered open, giving way to brown eyes that betrayed him and revealed his genuine emotions. They sparkled with pain, sadness, and regret. All the emotions he kept under his kingly facade. Ben wiped away the familiar hot wetness with his sleeve.

He shook his thoughts away and clicked the pen. It began to run across the page as he focused on his work. And just as he thought he'd gotten his head off the purplette, his mind returned to her. He ignored the tears dropping on the papers.

Lumiere's voice cut through the door and the roars of his thoughts. "King Ben. Your parents are waiting for you in the dining room."

He breathed in and out, steadying his breath.

"King Ben?"

"I'll be down in a moment." His voice came out a bit weaker than usual, but it was convincing enough. "Thank you."

He didn't move until another few moments. Ben briskly left his office and turned down the hallway. He entered the bathroom and pooled water into his cupped palms. The cold drops of water streamed down his face with the hot tears. He rubbed his eyes in an unsuccessful attempt to ease the swelling.

Smoothing out his blue blazer and hair, he deemed himself presentable enough. Ben stared at the glass panel. A young king with a empty smile and swollen, pained eyes stared back at him. By the time he stepped out of the bathroom, his smile had been near perfected, concealing all negative emotions.

He pushed back all thoughts of the purplette that usually consumed him. In a few, insufferable minutes, he entered the brightly lit dining room. It sparkled with warmth as his parents' exchanged words.

The long dining table stretched across the room, chairs lined up at its sides. The chandelier adorned the room, giving it a fancy touch. To balance it out, a fireplace, across the large doors, glowed with bronze flames. The room didn't need windows to give it a more natural feel as plants were placed across the table. He felt a familiar tug at his heart recalling all the dinners he had here with Mal. In the midst of all the changes that had occurred since she stopped coming over, the room had stayed exactly the same.

Ben pulled his chair back quietly and took a seat. His mother stopped her conversation with her husband to observe his appearance. Her lips were pursed as she opened them to speak, "Remember you have to speak at the opening of Auradon Week tomorrow."

Ben looked up, realization sinking in seconds later. It was something he agreed to do, half asleep, and now the consequences of his carelessness were biting back. "Right. It'll be right outside the palace, correct?"

"Correct." Adam nodded.

"And the University of Auradon is organizing it?"

"Like always."

At his father's affirmation, his shoulders fell. There was no escape.

"You should talk to her." Belle murmured, addressing the girl that overwhelmed his thoughts.

He didn't say anything.

"You were so much happier with her. Don't you miss those days? When she would come visit you in your office as you worked or when you two would wrap yourselves in blankets and watch movies. Or—"

She was cut off. "No, I don't." It hurt to lie to his parents, but as long as it stopped her from bringing up the terrible memories.

"Don't forget the things we told you when you were a child, Ben." Adam set his fork down, "Follow your heart, not what the reporters or the public says. Just do what makes you h-"

"I really do appreciate your concern, mom, dad. I'll think about it." He cut them off before they could speak more. Before he would waver.

The queen pursed her lips, but remained quiet. The older man looked at his son with pity. They both knew he didn't mean it. He wouldn't think about it. They finished dinner quickly, never speaking more than five words at a time. Ever since he had broken up with Mal, his relationship with his parents had become a bit strained, as all of his relationships with his friends and peers had become.

After dinner, he retreated to his room, leaving stacks of work in office to be taken care of later. Ben opened a book to get a bit of reading done, but closed it as soon as he realized it was book she had given him.

The king leaned back onto his bed. The mattress pressed in around him, tracing his lonely figure. He breathed in and out, different thoughts manuevering his head.

Shaking his head, he rolled out of bed and to his bathroom. About fifteen minutes later, he returned with wet hair, minty breath, and fresh clothes. Ben threw himself onto the bed, tossed the covers over him, and let the night fall over him.

**It doesn't feel awkward at all, being alone.**

With a swoosh, the curtains retreated to the sides of the window. Sunlight filtered in through the window and Ben winced at the abrupt entrance of light.

"Get up." His mother's warm voice said with finality.

With a beastly groan, he rolled to his side, away from the window's light. The young man pulled the blankets over his head.

"It's a Saturday." He grumbled. "Why'd you wake me up so early?"

"You have to get ready. Today's the opening day for Auradon Week."

He froze as he recalled last night's dinner, "Right."

"Uh huh, so get up and get ready. You'll be late."

Ben sighed, but tossed his legs over the bed. The warmth of the blankets left him. His bare feet curled at the cold, tiled floor. His feet had adjusted by the time he was stepping out of the bathroom. The king shuffled through his closet for an outfit that would suit the occasion. He threw on a royal blue coat over a white button-up shirt.

His yellow tie wrapped around his fingers as he pulled it around his neck. He neatly tied it and tucked it underneath his buttoned coat. Ben picked out a matching handkerchief and carefully slipped it into his breast pocket.

It was a rather simple look that utilized Auradon's colors to accentuate his attention to the event. He laced his fingers into his hair, fixing it. He snapped a watch around his wrist and slowly trudged over to the window.

There was a small group gathered on the castle's lawn. A purple-haired girl stood at the center and looked to be directing them. Ben couldn't help the sad smile from sweeping across his lips. Her charisma and firmness made its appearance. The way she controlled herself and those around her hadn't changed. She was still the natural leader she used to be.

He turned away from the sight before any burning tears could ruin his appearance. The royal gently set his crown on his soft, brown hair.

His hand found the light switch, flicking it down as he left the room. He walked through the castle he grew up in. The same castle that he spent so much time with Mal in. He sat at the dining table for breakfast. His parents had already left for their own matters.

**Me, who thought I wouldn't be able to live without you, lives like this now.**

In moments, the sun was cascading around him. He cringed at its brightness, throwing a hand in front of him to block the light. The sunlight cast a shadow in front of him, his green eyes gazed over the sight. The planning team had outdone themselves this year. It was surely the best in years.

"Mal!" A voice called out, "There's another issue."

A sigh came as a response, "What is it now?"

His breath caught in his throat upon catching sight of her. She was dressed in a knee-length purple dress, the long sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her purple hair ran down her back, flowing behind her ears. The sunlight showered around her. She was absolutely gorgeous.

She had a cup of coffee in one hand and her clipboard in another. Her actions were slightly sluggish. It was clear she was tired from the nights she had, no doubt, spent perfecting every single detail for today's festival.

"It's Lucas, again." A girl told Mal, "He's insisting that he won't listen to a villain kid."

Ben watched as she sighed, "I thought he'd give it a rest for today, at least."

The other girl looked at Mal with sympathy.

"Just tell him that today's not the day for his petty bullshit and I certainly am not in the mood for it."

"And if he doesn't listen?"

"Then tell him that he won't be needed at our next meeting." Mal answered. "We'll just have to appoint a new treasurer."

The other nodded slowly, shocked by the implication. While she could be scary at times, Mal was on the forgiving side. She'd never removed someone from the team.

"Alright." It was obvious the girl was also tired. Ben suspected that she was often caught in the middle of Mal and this guy... Lucas, and their disagreements.

"I'm sorry, Susie." The purplette had a small, but genuine smile on her face.

The girl whom he'd recently discoved was named Susie nodded, "It's no problem, Mal."

"Also, do you know who's our opening speaker for today?"

The other girl shrugged, "I'm pretty sure Rose was talking about it earlier."

"Alright, you can go, Susie." Mal nodded as she turned her head to look for someone that Ben assumed to be Rose.

The blond-haired girl nodded and disappeared into the crowd.

Mal spun around, still in search for the student-body secretary. She froze as she caught sight of the neat brown hair and gold of the crown. "Is he...?" Her breath caught in her throat.

The recipient of her stare was politely smiling at everyone that greeted him. A gaze burned at his side and his head turned. Her purple locks stood out amongst the perfect brown and blondes of Auradonians. His kingly smile dropped from his face, replaced with an expression that revealed too much.

**But I do feel a little empty. I guess I'm still at that place.**

_A/N: That's all I've got for this chapter! I'd love to hear some feedback or requests. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time, guys!_


	3. 2

_A/N: After reading the first chapter, I do feel a bit disappointed, but I really hope that my writing will improve throughout the course of this story. Enjoy!_

**_I let it all out so I can feel relieved_**

His green-eyed gaze pierced through her and she knew that he was looking right past her strong, fearless facade. Standing several feet away from each other, neither said anything. The chatter of those around them blended into the background, becoming silent in their ears.

One second turned into two, then three. Two minutes had passed when they were snapped out of their thoughts.

"Mal. Mal! MAL!" A hand shook her shoulder lightly.

He didn't even noticed the brown-haired until Mal had turned away from him to talk to the son of Ariel. Mal's vibrant green eyes met the other's violet ones and it'd be a lie if he said he wasn't slightly jealous.

She tore her gaze away from him, only allowing it to linger for a few seconds, "Y-yes, Aaron?"

"Rose is busy so she asked me to come."

Mal blinked as he stared at her expectantly. "Oh um right. This year's opening speaker. It doesn't happen to be...?"

"King Ben?" Aaron finished nervously, "I'm sorry, Mal. It's just, y'know, who better than the king to make the opening speech?"

Her heart dropped as any doubts were confirmed. A part of her felt stupid for thinking that he might just be visiting. He was the king, he doesn't have any time for anything that doesn't fall under his responsibilities as king. She was sharply reminded of the night they broke up.

"Mal?" He shook her left arm gently in an attempt to get her attention.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"If you want, I can go talk to him for you." He offered, "Show him around and everything."

She bit her lip. Mal didn't want him to think that she wasn't over him by having someone else talk to him. At the same time, though, she knew that talking to him would put her back to square one. All her progress would be lost.

"Oh um, could you?" She stuttered, "Y'know cause I'm a bit busy and yeah."

Aaron saw right through her words. She had made sure that everything would go as perfectly as possible, last night. There was very little that had to be done today. She had time to greet the king and show him around. Still, he agreed.

"Sure. I'm pretty sure Cassidy said she needed help." He told her. It wasn't a lie, but Cassidy could easily find someone else to help her. He knew that it would help keep Mal's mind off of Ben though.

She nodded as she turned around with one final 'thanks'. He brushed it off and approached the young ruler.

"Your Highness."

Ben looked up from his shoes, confused when he caught sight of Aurora's son, "Just Ben is fine."

"I'm Aaron." He extended a hand, "I was asked to show you around today, if that's okay."

Ben took his hand, "It's fine."

**_But it's alright to care about what happened in the past._**

He watched as she pulled her hair back behind her ear. A smile swept across her face, but it didn't quite meet her eyes. She said something that he couldn't hear and turned away from the girl whom she'd just helped.

Ben forced his gaze elsewhere, watching as Auradonians filtered into the castleyard. They shot him wide-eyed glances, giving him a small bow as they passed.

He looked over the crowd dressed in yellow and blue. His head turned slightly at the sight of a cardboard box towering over their heads. It shifted to the side, almost falling over someone. A hand reached out to align it with the rest of the stack just before it could.

The king naturally went over to help. He maneuvered the crowd with "excuse me"'s and "pardon"'s.

He froze when he caught sight of purple locks. It was Mal. She stumbled back slightly, cardboard boxes threatening to fall over her. She tripped as she blindly walked back while trying to keep the boxes from falling over her.

The purplette fell to the ground, clutching the hand that had broken her fall. The boxes contents fell around her.

He snapped out of his daze as the crowd fell back, away from her as the water bottles in one of the bottles popped open.

She let go of her elbow at the sight, "What am I going to tell Sarah?" A shadow was cast over her and she looked up.

"Need help?" A familiar voice asked as a hand hovered in front of her.

The girl shook her head without even looking at him, "I'm fine."

He gently reached down to take her hands and pulled her up. She winced.

"I said I didn't need help."

"Is your hand alright?" He wore a concerned frown as he looked up to meet her eyes.

She took her hand away from his grasp, "It'll be alright." She glanced over to the murmuring audience, the press was going to have a field day. With a sigh, she bent down to clean up.

Mal neatly replaced all the items back into the boxes. She took the water bottles that had cracked in the fall and tossed them into the recycling bins. The daughter of Maleficent shut the boxes and stacked them up again.

Before she could lift them, Ben had bent down to take them for her.

"I'll get them. Just show me where you want them."

She sighed, "Alright, follow me."

**_When I think I can see the answer,_**

He glanced over at her. Whenever she thought he wasn't looking at her, she would rub her wrist. She looked down at the bruise that was starting to form.

"You should go get that checked out."

Mal looked up, shocked to see that he had caught her, "Oh um, I will, but the opening is going to start soon and I kinda have to be there."

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Why do you care so much?"

He turned his head to meet her eyes. "I just..." stumbled to find the right words.

"That was a stupid question. You're just the type of person that cares about everyone and everything." Mal said before he could think of an answer.

"Is that a good thing?"

She shrugged, "I guess, but maybe sometimes you care too much about everyone and everything that you lose sight of what really matters."

Ben looked down, lingering on every single one of her words.

"Just maybe." She mumbled and rose to her feet. Taking a few steps away from him, the university student disappeared into the crowd, tears burning at her eyes.

She thought she was finally making some progress. That she would finally forget him and what they used to have.

**_It suddenly becomes a prison that traps me._**

Her words echoed in his head. The bitterness in her voice wrapped around him, slowly enclosing on him. The young king wanted nothing more than to crawl into his bed as his heart ached. The weight of the decision he'd made so many years ago finally came tumbling down on him.

He stared blankly at the spot where they had broken up. The night playing itself over and over again before him.

_A small grin rest on her lips as she looked down into the small pond. Fish sliced through the pond, frogs kicked into the water, and water lilies danced across its rippling surface. She swoosh her fingers slightly, whispering a spell, causing flowers to blossom on the tops of the lilies._

_Her eyelids crinkled, slightly obstructing the view of her mirthful eyes, as her cheeks dipped into dimples. She spun on her heel, the smile immediately disappearing as if it had never been there._

_"Hey?" Her brows knit together, confusion dimming her bright green eyes._

_The heels of his brown dress shoes slowed and the echoes of his steps faded. "Mal."_

_"Ben, is there something wrong?"_

_He shook his head, "No, no. There's nothing wrong, Mal." His eyes traced the edges of the stone tiles beneath his feet._

_"But?" She prompted._

_"There's nothing wrong, but," He hesitated, "I think we should break up."_

_Her breath caught in her throat, "What? Ben, if there's nothing wrong, then why do you suddenly want to break up?"_

_"I'm sorry, Mal. I'm just so busy and I just think it's really unfair to you. I know that the lack of time is hurting you."_

_The way he refused to meet her gaze, biting his lip; it was so obvious. She shook her head, seeing through it all._

_"Ben, don't lie to me." She glanced up at the dark sky, begging the stars to cut through the clouds._

_His shoulders fell and his gaze lifted from the stone pavement, "Mal, not everyone approves of our relationship."_

_"But the majority of Auradon does support our relationship, Ben."_

_Ben's soft green eyes met hers, "I can't just ignore the minority, Mal. What if I could just please them all?"_

_"There's always going to be a few people that disapprove, Ben." She argued desperately. "That's inevitable."_

_"Well then I can at least try to satisfy as many people as possible."_

_Her shoulders fell._

_"So what you're going to find someone else that satisfies more people than I could?"_

_He didn't answer._

_"You're unbelievable." She breathed out, "What about you, Ben? After you find that someone, will you be happy?"_

_He shrugged._

_"In a good nation, the king and the people rejoice together." The daughter of Maleficent muttered before she turned away. Her purple hair disappeared into the night._

_He whispered into the air, "What would you know about a good country?" And he stubbornly refused to admit that she was right._

_He turned his gaze onto the glass like water, the moon's light cascading over the pond. His brown eyes were almost a replica to the pond's glass-like surface, only without the light and liveliness provided by the moon and the fishes._

He stared into that same place. He hated himself for his foolishness that night. He hated himself for ignoring the obvious pain etched across her face. He hated himself for robbing her eyes of their joyous glint.

**_But time just keeps moving forward_**

Mal's eyes gleamed with pride as her eyes danced over the large crowd. They looked up at the stage, their eyes shining with anticipation. Children stood close to their parents, squirming around as they waited for the end of the opening so they could enjoy the booths.

"Good morning, Auradon." King Milo greeted the audience warmly. "Another year has passed and here we are yet again, commemorating Auradon's fateful founding."

Mal turned to the staff as the founder of the University of Auradon and ruler of Atlantis began a variation of the story of Auradon's founding and the college's involvement in it. The words, while empowering to someone hearing it for the first time, had been repeated almost every year.

"Alright, everyone. Booths are set?" She said just loud enough for them to hear.

The team whispered and nodded their affirmations. She smiled, "We've been planning this for months, let's not mess it all up, yeah?"

They nodded with determined smiles across their faces.

"Alright, good luck everyone. If there are any issues, come talk to me." The crowd dispersed, quietly splitting off to get to their designated booths.

"Mal, I need to talk to you."

She whipped around, "Ben! What are you doing? You're supposed to be up on stage."

"It's not my turn." He shrugged, "And we kinda need to talk."

"No, we don't. There's a chair up on that stage that has your name on it, so please take a seat up there before the press sees us and starts coming up with even more ridiculous speculations."

The royal awkwardly strolled across the stage, his brown dress shoes echoing across the palace yard, shooting the crowd a sheepish grin. King Milo glanced back at him, a confused frown, before returning to his speech.

Mal sighed, already wishing for the arrival of the day's end.

**And I've accomplished nothing.**

_Finally finished! This one took quite a bit. Things have begun to pick up, but there's still so much more. Hope you guys enjoyed! Please review, follow, and favorite. It'd be very much appreciated!_


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